As metaphors go to highlight today’s tortuous trading environment, the fact that the Economic and Commodities Outlook session kicked off Friday’s Geneva Dry conference with an empty seat on stage was rather apt – Shamika Sirimanne, director of the UN Trade and Development’s division on technology and logistics, was snarled up in traffic just outside the World Trade Organization building of all places. She was able to take her seat alongside moderator Sam Chambers, the editor of Splash, 10 minutes into the debate which had been billed as a scene-setter for much of the other sessions that were to follow that day.
Saad Rahim, chief economist at Trafigura, was asked to get proceedings underway, giving his take on where the global economy was headed for the next 48 months.
“The US economy is not just firing on all cylinders, it’s finding new cylinders to…